Crucial game in group 2 between two teams who are clearly going to be fighting for a place in the Semi Final as both teams have clearly proved to be superior over the other team in the group in Iceland. Both of these teams are currently tied at the top with 3 points with Switzerland holding a goal difference edge which is going to make this game very intriguing as one of these teams will take a huge step towards winning the group. Belgium are tipped favourites, but we should never write off the tough Swiss side as this should be a very interesting game!
Key Facts
Under Roberto Martinez, Belgium have scored 62 goals in 18 competitive games which is an astonishing 3.4 goals per game!
Belgium’s Eden Hazard is currently one of the most in form players in the world having scored 7 goals in 8 league games for Chelsea and being the top scorer of the Premier League.
However, the other Belgian star Romelu Lukaku (their all time top scorer) is currently suffering a goal drought having not scored in 6 straight appearances. However, he’s had much more success playing for Belgium having scored 3 goals in his last 2 apps for his country last month
Belgium are unbeaten in their last 12 home games including friendlies. 9W 3D.
Excluding friendlies, Belgium are unbeaten at home in 34 straight competitive matches, the last loss being in 2010 September to Germany.
The last time that Belgium and Switzerland met was in 2016 where Belgium won away from 1-2 in a friendly.
In their last 10 games against League A opposition (including friendlies, Belgium have a record of 4W 2D 4L.
Switzerland have kept 9 clean sheets in their last 17 competitive games (excluding friendlies). However they’ve only kept 1 in their last 5
In 2018, Switzerland’s top scorers are Dzemaili and Zuber with 3. Xhaka, Shaqiri, Seferovic and Rodriguez have 2 goals (including friendlies). Multiple weapons.
In their last 10 matches against League A opposition (including friendlies) Switzerland have only won once, drawn 4 and lost 5 having only scored 7 goals in those matches.
9 of last 17 competitive games that had Switzerland involved had under 2.5 goals.
Team News
Belgium: Belgium are coming into this international having missing some very important players. Belgium will be without their star men Jan Vertonghen and Kevin de Bruyne who is still recovering from his injury despite him being close to returning, he won’t feature for Belgium therefore we will probably see Tielemans slot in the midfield instead. As for Vertonghen’s replacement, it will likely be Vermaelen or Watford’s Kabasele. Furthermore, Moussa Dembele and Adnan Januzaj are also out with injuries for Belgium. However, with all of those absentees we shouldn’t see a change in formation, Martinez has been using 3-4-3 and it’s been very successful. Expect Carrasco and Meunier to slot in at wing back positions while Hazard, Lukaku and Mertens should form the front 3 as they usually do. The in form Eden Hazard is the man to watch as he’s playing as well as anybody in the world right now.
Switzerland: Switzerland are going to be missing a couple players due to injury those being Djourou and Mehmedi. Elsewhere, we should be expect Vladimir Petkovic to field a very strong team with the likes of Shaqiri, Xhaka, Schar, Rodriguez, Embolo etc all featuring. We can expect Switzerland to set up to counter attack Belgium and despite being the underdog, they can for sure cause a ton of problems for their opponents with the likes of Shaqiri, Embolo, Xhaka etc. Switzerland are going to be very dangerous from set pieces with Shaqiri and Xhaka being amazing deliverers of the dead ball. Switzerland are one of those teams who know how to frustrate their opponents and that’s expected to be their game plan coming up against Belgium, to frustrate their star men to give themselves a chance to pick something out of this game by playing tough, physical football.
Betting Tips and Predictions
This shapes up to be a very intriguing game because we’ve got a clash of play styles. Belgium are a fluid, attacking, entertaining team whereas Switzerland are a gritty, hard-working, frustrating side to play against for opposition. We won’t back any overs/unders in this match due to the fact that the odds are too low for over 2.5 and too low for under 3.5. BTTS is a good pick for this match. Belgium are not a good defensive side, they tend to get exposed on the wings and now that their best CB is missing in Vertonghen, that backline gets weaker and Switzerland themselves have got enough creative players themselves where they can go and score goals, Shaqiri Xhaka Embolo Rodriguez etc. it’s a good team and we do believe that the Swiss will get a goal. There’s no doubt that Belgium will score, they’re too good not to. We’re also going to back a Swiss +1.5 AH despite the low odds, but this bet looks pretty safe. Belgium as mentioned are missing some key stars and Switzerland are a tough, gritty side that really rarely loses game by a big margin, now although Belgium should win this match, it won’t be as easy as many people expect it to be. Eden Hazard to score anytime is our final pick. There’s nothing much to say there, he’s playing unbelievable right now scoring left right and centre and should be able to keep that form up. Our prediction is a 2-1 win for Belgium with Hazard scoring one of the goals.
Match Odds (TonyBet)
Belgium Win – 1.45
Draw – 4.55
Switzerland Win – 6.85
KICK OFF – 12th October 2018 – 7:45pm UK Time
